siding. “The warmth of pine is one of those connection things,” Huntsays. “It’s in the collective subconscious of Vermonters. I put part ofthat into everything.”Before deciding to become an architect, Hunt worked for an engi-neering firm in Munich, Germany. “Living and working in [pedestrian-friendly] Germany gave me a feel for the power of design — how it canchange people’s lives,” he says. It also introduced him to the Germanpassivhaus concept, principles and practices that result in buildings soefficient, they use up to 90 percent less energy than structures built tocurrent US energy-efficiency codes. These “passive houses” are morethan well-insulated buildings heated by the sun. They are integrallydesigned to provide healthy indoor environments and reduce energyfootprints through attention to every aspect of construction, includ-ing advanced window technology, airtightness, heat-recovery venti-lation, and highly efficient lighting.

The Hunts’ home reflects many of these strategies. For example,
the sliding door that opens from the living room to the porch is a Euro-pean-made triple-paned system that minimizes air infiltration. The

for siding, hunt chose
eco-friendly corrugated
sheet steel, which has a
high recycled content,
requires little maintenance,
and can be recycled again
at the end of its 50-year
lifetime. The steel is coated
with Galvalume, an
aluminum-zinc alloy.